Protective absorbent garment accessories and their methods of use

ABSTRACT

Protective absorbent garment accessories are disclosed herein and include an elasticized component and at least one absorbing component. In some embodiments, contemplated protective arm garment accessories comprise an elasticized component, at least one absorbing component and at least one twist or bunch component. In other embodiments, contemplated absorbent protective neck or head garment accessories comprise an elasticized component, at least one absorbing component and at least one twist or bunch component. At least one of these components may be made from, comprise or consist entirely of fabric. In some embodiments, contemplated absorbent protective garment accessories may be coupled with another garment, such as a glove, sleeve, cap, hat or stylist&#39;s protective cape.

This United States Utility Patent Application claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.: 61/439188 filed on Feb. 3, 2011and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No.: 61/439345 filed on Feb.3, 2011, which are commonly-owned and incorporated herein in theirentirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE SUBJECT MATTER

The field of the subject matter is protective absorbent garmentaccessories, their design and methods of use.

BACKGROUND

It has long been a problem for anyone who has washed his or her face inthe morning or at the end of the day—water runs down their arms, getsinto their hair or runs down their necks and onto their shirt or otherclothing. Specifically, a woman may wash her face and while applyingwater or rinsing off the cleanser, water will run down her arms from herhands, which results in wet sleeves and water puddles around the sink orother surfaces. This same problem is experienced in many differentindustries by service professionals and individuals, including hair careprofessionals (when they wash a customer's hair), manicure and pedicureprofessionals, animal grooming professionals (when they shampoo pets),healthcare professionals (when they sterilize their hands or bathepatients), or parents (when they bathe their babies or small children).

There are several conventional items that attempt to address thisproblem. For example, Joz Incorporated disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,968,572 a fluid barrier arm cuff to be

There are several conventional items that attempt to address thisproblem. For example, Joz Incorporated disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,968,572 a fluid barrier arm cuff to be used on the arm for washinganimals. This arm cuff is a hard plastic bowl-like design that isdesigned to catch any water running down the arm and funnel it out ofthe bowl through the use of a spout or drain hole. The problem with thisdesign, other than the fact that the hard cuff is uncomfortable anddifficult to put on and remove, is that if the wearer moves his or herarm down or without thinking about the angle of the drain hole, a largeamount of water can be deposited on his or her clothing or shoes.

In another attempt to solve the problem, Barbara Doran in US PatentApplication No.: 12/456124 discloses a soft, independent cuff designedto hold the sleeve up such that it does not fall down to the wrist andget wet during actions that involve getting a person's hands wet. Theproblem with this design is that it still does not solve the problem ofwhat happens to water that runs down the person's arms from his or herhands during the bathing or cleansing process. It is also not designedto be worn around the head or neck to absorb water or other liquids.

In yet another attempt to solve the problem, Rana Bauer developed “ONTHE CUFF” products (http://www.onthecuff.net/index.php), which are donutshaped sponges designed to be worn around the wrist to deflect water. Itshould be noted that the product website claims in a product video thatthe On the Cuff product deflects most of the water. While this productis closer in function to solving the problem, there are still designflaws. For example, the sponges are not designed to be thrown into awashing machine or dried in a dryer in order to keep them clean and freefrom mildew. Sponges can become stiff and break down with use. Anotherproblem with using sponges is the more they stretch, the less absorbentand less useful they become. The sponges do not provide areas that haveincreased absorbing characteristics. They are also not very fashionable,as it appears that one is wearing a large, yellow donut around herwrist. Finally, their size makes them only really functional if wornaround the wrist. In other words, they are not able to be worn ondifferent parts of the body, because they are only shaped for the wristarea.

Ideally, to solve the problems that still exist in conventional items, aprotective arm, neck or head garment accessory should be provided thatis a) a soft, absorbent fabric product, b) designed to be worn aroundthe wrist or on the forearm, around the neck or head, c) designed to bewashed and dried without becoming stiff or breaking down, and d) bestylish and something that individuals want to wear.

SUMMARY

A contemplated protective absorbent garment accessory comprises anelasticized component and at least one absorbing component. In someembodiments, contemplated protective arm garment accessories comprise anelasticized component, at least one absorbing component and at least onetwist or bunch component.

In some embodiments, contemplated absorbent protective neck or headgarment accessories comprise an elasticized component, at least oneabsorbing component and at least one twist or bunch component.

At least one of these components may be made from, comprise or consistentirely of fabric. In some embodiments, contemplated absorbentprotective garment accessories may be coupled with another garment, suchas a glove, sleeve, cap, hat or stylist's protective cape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a contemplated embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a contemplated embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows another contemplated embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows another contemplated embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an effort to solve the problem and provide a new solution overconventional items and methods, a protective absorbent garment accessorywas designed and is described herein. First, contemplated designs are asoft fabric product designed to be worn around the wrist or on theforearm, the neck or head which solves the problem presented by the Jozpatent, the Bauer design and the Doran patent publication. Second,contemplated designs are not designed to cuff around a sleeve in orderto solely hold the sleeve up. Third, contemplated designs absorb wateror other liquids, while remaining stylish and fun to wear. Finally,contemplated designs are designed to be washed and dried withoutbecoming stiff or breaking down. To summarize and specifically addressthe goals mentioned earlier, contemplated protective and absorbentgarment accessories are a) made from a soft, absorbent fabric product,b) designed to be worn around the wrist or on the forearm or head, c)designed to be washed and dried without becoming stiff or breaking down,and d) stylish and something that individuals want to wear.

Contemplated protective absorbent garment accessories also comprise atleast one elastic or similar design feature, usually hidden on theinside of the protective absorbent garment accessories that is used tosecure the garment in place on the wrist, forearm, head, neck or elbowarea. Contemplated protective absorbent garment accessories may alsocomprise small bundles of fabric or other absorbent spheres or designsthat are a part of the main fabric or in combination with the mainfabric. In many embodiments, these bundles, spheres or designs arefunctionally designed to absorb more liquids, but they may also bedecorative or a combination of absorbent and decorative.

In some embodiments, contemplated absorbent protective neck or headgarment accessories comprise an elasticized component, at least oneabsorbing component and at least one twist or bunch component.

At least one of these components may be made from, comprise or consistentirely of fabric. In some embodiments, contemplated absorbentprotective garment accessories may be coupled with another garment, suchas a glove, sleeve, cap, hat or stylist's protective cape, as will bedescribed herein.

Specifically, a contemplated protective absorbent garment accessorycomprises an elasticized component and at least one absorbing component.In some embodiments, contemplated protective absorbent garmentaccessories comprise an elasticized component, at least one absorbingcomponent and at least one defined twist or bunch component. At leastone of these components may be made from, comprise or consist entirelyof at least one fabric and in some embodiments, more than one type,style, color or texture of fabric. Contemplated embodiments can be wornon the wrist or forearm, around the neck or on the head.

As described, contemplated protective absorbent garment accessoriescomprise at least one elasticized component. In many embodiments, acontemplated elasticized component may be a suitable piece or strip ofelastic that is covered or coupled with at least one piece or strip ofabsorbing fabric or material. In another embodiment, contemplatedelasticized components may be both fabric/material and elastic in thesame component, as opposed to a piece of elastic covered with anabsorbing fabric or material. In addition, the phrase “an elasticizedcomponent” may mean that there is one elasticized component in thecontemplated protective absorbent garment accessory or there may beseveral elasticized components in the contemplated protective absorbentgarment accessory. It should be understood that the at least oneelasticized component may be around the circumference of the protectiveabsorbent garment accessory, may strategically end at some point withoutcompleting the circle of the accessory, or may be divided into pieces inorder to strategically elasticize certain parts of a contemplatedaccessory.

Contemplated embodiments also comprise at least one absorbing componentwhere the at least one absorbing component may comprise a fabriccomponent, a material component, an elastic component or a combinationthereof. Contemplated absorbing components are designed to easily absorbfluids/liquids, hold a reasonable amount of liquid/fluid in theabsorbing component until the wearer can easily remove the protectivegarment, and are designed to be easily washed and dried withoutsignificant or noticeable deterioration.

Contemplated protective absorbent garment accessories, which are shownin FIGS. 1-4, may comprise any type or combination of fabric, as long asit is capable of absorbing liquids. Choice of fabric may be based, inpart, on whether the protective garment is going to be reusable, such asin a home environment, or disposable, such as what might be used in ahealthcare or salon environment. Contemplated fabric may comprise anydesign, pattern, color, sports, organization, sorority, fraternity oruniversity logo, words, message, social expression or combinationthereof. For example, a contemplated protective garment may be producedfor a wedding or shower gift, such that it includes a specific fabricchoice or color, includes embroidery that is specific to the event, orincludes decorative embellishments or “bling” that is specific to theevent.

Contemplated fabric may also be textured—whether it is a texture thatmerely enhances the look of the garment, a texture that enhances theability of the garment to absorb liquids or a combination of both. Asmentioned, decorative items may also be coupled with or woven intosuitable fabric choices, so that the protective garment has a “bling”component to it.

In some embodiments, contemplated protective absorbent garmentaccessories comprise at least one elasticized component, at least oneabsorbing component and at least one defined twist or bunch component.These contemplated defined twist or bunch components can take the shapeof any suitable feature, but in some embodiments, they have theappearance of knots or twists in the garment, as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1shows a protective absorbent garment accessory 100 that is designed tobe worn around the wrist, forearm or elbow (not shown) by utilizing theopening/hole 140. This contemplated embodiment comprises an elasticizedcomponent 110 (which is located under the at least one absorbingcomponent, and is therefore shown as the dotted line), at least oneabsorbing component 120 and at least one defined twist or bunchcomponent 130. In this embodiment, the at least one defined twist orbunch component can also serve as an absorbing component. This design,and similar designs, is both decorative and functional. The functionalaspect is that it effectively increases the surface area of theabsorbing component in order to capture and hold more liquids and/orfluids.

FIG. 2 shows a contemplated garment accessory that comprises a twist orbunch component that is designed to look more like a crimp. In thisfigure, a protective absorbent garment accessory 200 is shown that isdesigned to be worn around the head (not shown) by utilizing theopening/hole 240. This contemplated embodiment comprises an elasticizedcomponent 210 that is covered by (shown as dotted line) the at least oneabsorbing component 220, at least one absorbing component 220 and atleast one defined twist or bunch component 230. Note that in thisembodiment, the elasticized component 210 does not complete the circlearound the accessory, but instead ends right before the twist or bunchcomponent 230. In this embodiment, the at least one defined twist orbunch component can also serve as an absorbing component. This design,and similar designs, is both decorative and functional. The functionalaspect is that it effectively increases the surface area of theabsorbing component in order to capture and hold more liquids and/orfluids.

FIG. 3 shows a contemplated garment accessory that comprises two twistor bunch components that are designed to look more like a crimp. Itshould be understood that the twist or bunch components can be the sameor mixed. For example, a contemplated garment accessory can compriseboth a twist or bunch component shown in FIG. 2 and a twist or bunchcomponent shown in FIG. 1. In this figure, however, a protectiveabsorbent garment accessory 300 is shown that is designed to be womaround the head (not shown) by utilizing the opening/hole 340. Thiscontemplated embodiment comprises an elasticized component 310 that iscovered by (shown as dotted line) the at least one absorbing component320, at least one absorbing component 320 and at least one defined twistor bunch component 330. Note that in this embodiment, the elasticizedcomponent 210 completes the circle around the accessory, and runs underthe twist or bunch component 230. In this embodiment, the at least onedefined twist or bunch component can also serve as an absorbingcomponent. This design, and similar designs, is both decorative andfunctional. The functional aspect is that it effectively increases thesurface area of the absorbing component in order to capture and holdmore liquids and/or fluids.

FIG. 4 shows a contemplated garment accessory that is designed to beworn around the head, wherein the fabric is textured in some areas. Inthis figure, a protective absorbent garment accessory 400 is shown thatis designed to be worn around the head (not shown) by utilizing theopening/hole 440. This contemplated embodiment comprises an elasticizedcomponent 410 that runs the circumference of the accessory and iscovered by (shown as dotted line) the at least one absorbing component420, at least one absorbing component 420 and at least one defined twistor bunch component 430. In this embodiment, the at least one definedtwist or bunch component can also serve as an absorbing component. Also,in this embodiment, the at least one absorbing component 420 has atextured portion 425 that can provide additional surface area forabsorption of liquids (not shown). This design, and similar designs, isboth decorative and functional. The functional aspect is that iteffectively increases the surface area of the absorbing component inorder to capture and hold more liquids and/or fluids.

Contemplated at least one defined twist or bunch component may be formedfrom an extended absorbing component or it may be a separate twist orbunch component that is coupled to or incorporated with the absorbingcomponent. For example, as a contemplated protective garment accessoryis assembled, the at least one absorbing component and/or elasticizedcomponent may be twisted, bunched or knotted in specific areas or withdetermined intervals between each twist or bunch component before theabsorbing component is finally assembled into the protective garment. Inother embodiments, before a contemplated protective garment accessory isfinalized, a bunch or twist component is coupled with, slid onto orattached to the absorbing component. To this end, the at least onedefined bunch or twist component may be comprised of the same materialas the at least one absorbing component or may be a different fabric ormaterial from the at least one absorbing component.

In one embodiment, a contemplated garment accessory may be coupled toanother garment item, such as a glove, sleeve, hat, cap, or in the caseof beauty and salon professionals—beauty aprons, capes or vests. Forexample, a contemplated absorbent garment accessory may be coupled witha rubber glove, in order to capture water or other liquids, such ascleaning fluids that may run down the glove during the cleaning process.In these embodiments, the absorbent garment accessory is designed toabsorb the liquids, not to merely catch, deflect or redirect theliquids. Another contemplated absorbent garment accessory may be coupledto the neck area of a beauty apron, so that water and/or treatmentchemicals do not run down the neck of the patron.

In some embodiments, the at least one defined bunch or twist componentmay actually be a different textured area in the at least one absorbingcomponent. An example of this type of embodiment can be seen in agarment where the knit is flat for most of the garment, but then has adifferent knit as part of the garment that results in a raised featureat intervals, such as regular intervals.

Thus, specific embodiments of protective absorbent garment accessories,their design and methods of use have been disclosed. It should beapparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many moremodifications besides those already described are possible withoutdeparting from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subjectmatter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of thedisclosure herein. Moreover, in interpreting the specification andclaims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible mannerconsistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and“comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components,or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referencedelements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combinedwith other elements, components, or steps that are not expresslyreferenced.

1. A protective absorbent garment accessory, comprising: at least oneelasticized component, at least one absorbing component, and at leastone defined twist or bunch component.
 2. The protective absorbentgarment accessory of claim 1, wherein the at least one elasticizedcomponent comprises at least one elastic piece, cord or strip.
 3. Theprotective absorbent garment accessory of claim 1, wherein the at leastone absorbing component is made from fabric, material or a combinationthereof.
 4. The protective absorbent garment accessory of claim 1,wherein the at least one absorbing component comprises at least onetexture or texturized area.
 5. The protective absorbent garmentaccessory of claim 1, wherein the at least one absorbing componentcomprises at least two textures or texturized areas.
 6. The protectiveabsorbent garment accessory of claim 1, wherein the at least one definedtwist or bunch component comprises at least one knot.
 7. The protectiveabsorbent garment accessory of claim 1, comprising at least oneadditional garment.
 8. The protective absorbent garment accessory ofclaim 7, wherein the at least one additional garment comprises a glove,cap, hat, sleeve, beauty apron, beauty cape or combination thereof.
 9. Aprotective absorbing arm garment accessory, comprising: at least oneelasticized component, and at least one fabric-based absorbingcomponent, wherein the at least one elasticized component and the atleast one absorbing component are individual components.
 10. Theprotective arm garment accessory of claim 9, wherein the garmentadditionally comprises at least one defined twist or bunch component.11. The protective arm garment accessory of claim 9, wherein the atleast one elasticized component comprises at least one elastic piece,cord or strip.
 12. The protective arm garment accessory of claim 9,wherein the at least one absorbing component comprises at least onetexture or texturized area.
 13. The protective arm garment accessory ofclaim 9, wherein the at least one absorbing component comprises at leasttwo textures or texturized areas.
 14. The protective arm garmentaccessory of claim 10, wherein the at least one defined twist or bunchcomponent comprises at least one knot.
 15. The protective arm garmentaccessory of claim 9, comprising at least one additional garment. 16.The protective arm garment accessory of claim 15, wherein the at leastone additional garment comprises a glove, sleeve or combination thereof.17. A protective absorbing head or neck garment accessory, comprising:at least one elasticized component, and at least one fabric-basedabsorbing component, wherein the at least one elasticized component andthe at least one absorbing component are individual components.
 18. Theprotective arm garment accessory of claim 17, wherein the garmentadditionally comprises at least one defined twist or bunch component.19. The protective arm garment accessory of claim 17, wherein the atleast one elasticized component comprises at least one elastic piece,cord or strip.
 20. The protective arm garment accessory of claim 17,comprising at least one additional garment.